Beauty Guide: Get Your Beauty Sleep!

By Jenna

Think about this long and hard. How many hours do you sleep at night? Many of us don’t get enough beauty sleep, and this takes its toll on our skin. For those of us who are sleep deprived, we often walk around like zombies throughout our days. Late nights out, late nights at work, and late nights in front of the television all take a toll on our bodies. For what price? Sleep deprivation is not only bad for our bodies, but it’s terrible for our mental health and affects the way we look. Beauty sleep is not just a myth; it’s extremely important to our overall health and well-being, and is essential for younger looking skin.

When we drift off to slumber land our body is at peace. What you probably don’t realize is that your body is working its magic overnight. It’s trying to refresh, revitalize and keep you looking your best for the next day. Consider sleep as your body’s maintenance time. Sleeping too little can have adverse health effects on your body that can lead to diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, irritability, slower reaction time, slurred speech and tremors. Skin cells regenerate faster at night than during the day and ultimately help your skin look younger.

Lack of sleep causes you to age faster by changing your metabolism and affecting your hormones. The period of deep sleep, or R.E.M., is when people typically have a surge in growth hormones. These increased growth hormones help repair and rebuild tissue like your muscles. Your body’s cells also show increased production and less protein breakdown when you sleep. Proteins are important because they are needed for cell growth to help protect and repair damage from stress and UV rays. It’s not just about how much you sleep (a minimum of 8 hours per night are generally recommended), it’s also about the quality of your sleep. Better quality sleep = younger looking skin overall. Here are some tips for getting a good night’s rest.

Getting enough quality sleep is one of the best natural skin care techniques for looking your best. You can enhance this time by using skin care in the evenings that are rich in anti-oxidants. You will get increased benefits, as the anti-oxidants will stay active on your skin longer while you get your beauty rest. I love using Dreamweaver by Sircuit Skin before bed as an overnight moisturizer. The chamomile in it calms and relaxes my skin for a deep, heavenly sleep. Decleor’s Aroma Night Regenerating cream is also a dream to use. Infused with black orchid and primrose, you’ll awake to renewed and radiant skin.

Flickr User: EF Photography

Sleep deprivation also affects your skin hydration. When you’re not getting enough sleep, the first thing you run to is caffeine. Not so great for your skin! Caffeine exhausts your skin and takes away moisture from your body leaving your skin thirsty. If you’re stuck sleeping only a few hours in a night, take coffee and tea out of your diet and stock up on water. Adding water back into your system will have your skin looking moisturized instead of completely water deprived. Sleep also acts as a natural moisturizer when you perspire. Usually when you sleep your entire body (including your face) tends to perspire more, giving you a natural skin treatment.

I don’t know about you but not getting sleep makes me a really cranky monster. Not being a morning person to begin with, the last thing I need is to compromise the well-being of my body. Getting my beauty sleep not only helps my human self function better, but I’m happier and less likely to get into a funk of depression. One thing that helps me get my quality beauty rest is having a satin sleep mask. It blocks light so my sleep isn’t disrupted. There are many different eye therapy masks you can also try to rejuvenate your tired eyes. Now take a minute and listen to your body, it’s telling you something. Are you sleep deprived? Are you dehydrated? Are the bags under your eyes so bad that they’re impossible to hide with even the strongest concealer? Get some Z’s.

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